a monumentmeal day. the end of an era or the start of four more years. this morning the leadership of the country, the state and the bay area now in your hands as we all head out to the polls on this election day. very good morning, everybody. it is 6:00. thank you very much for joining us, i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we don't know the outcome, but one thing is for sure, by the end of the day, history will be made. for the first time, we won't see our president vote on election day. he actually voted early. weeks ago in his home town of chicago. it is going to be a very close race, some say. it will be interesting to see if the outcome truly comes today and how early potentially it could be called. "today in the bay" tracie potts is in the all-important swing

states that several candidates have visited several times. >> this polling place in cincinnati has been open for two and a half hours, boy, a busy morning. 30, 40 people in line initially before they opened the doors and it's a lull now, but people have been back and forth all morning long. >> for the first time ever and with its lowest turnout in almost 50 years, a tie this morning in tiny dixville notch, just after midnight they cast five votes for president obama, five for governor romney. a few hours south of manchester, the governor ends his campaign. >> last months of our campaign have seen the gathering of strength of movement across this country. it's and i understand there are a few thousand people outdoors that couldn't get in.

>> reporter: after voting near boston thanking campaign workers in pennsylvania and ohio, two key states he hopes to win. president obama wakes up this morning back home in chicago. he plans to continue an election day tradition. a game of basketball before watching results tonight. last night, his final campaign rally ever. in iowa, where he first won four years ago. >> as lock as there is a child in des moines, iowa or anywhere in this country, barred from opportunity, our work isn't done. our fight for change goes on. >> reporter: the president promised a better tomorrow if elected. that tomorrow may or may not begin today. tracie potts, nbc news, cincinnati. the voting under way in the state that president obama hopes to win. it's where he had his final

rally, as you just saw there last night. meantime back here in ohio, 1.6 million people have already either voted early or mailed in absentee ballots. that's almost a third of the state's electorate. we're live in cincinnati this morning, i'm tracie potts. back to you. today voters nationwide doing much more than deciding who will be the next president. they'll also weigh in on controversial topics. people in maine, maryland and washington voting whether to legalize same-sex marriage. in minnesota, voters being asked to amend the constitution to ban. voters in oregon and colorado will vote to have recreational marijuana. los angeles voters deciding whether porn stars should be required to wear condoms. requests for more money. in the bay area, there are nearly three dozen tax measures on the ballot and statewide

there are 300 revenue-raising propositions up for votes. and, jon, among the highest profile of those measures asking californians for more money, proposition 30. governor jerry brown and other big-name politicians making a last-minute push to push the tax initiative, which would fund education, health care and prison realignment programs. governor will vote on the issue later this morning. christie smith joins us live in oakland outside the polling location. good morning, christie. >> governor jerry brown is expected to be here at oakland fire station 6 around 7:00, 7:15 this morning and he is expected to be surrounded by a group of educators. they're voting for proposition 30, which is widely seen as a tax initiative to support public schools. now, the governor attended a rally yesterday in san francisco with mayor ed lee and senator dianne feinstein. proposition 30 impacts more than education, though.

it impacts public safety and health care and amend the state constitution to set aside funding for the governor's realignment program and those with no on 30 say the governor didn't really have to make the tie to education. >> it's a false choice to say that it is either education funding or these cuts. it was tied to education because, obviously, that was the best way to convince voters to go along with this tax increase. >> you're trying to get people to vote and you're trying to get them to vote for a specific reason. if you had to explain to them about the transition from state prison to local and how it's got to be subsidized and all that. no, it gets fuzzy. >> now, if prop 30 passes, it was raised about $6 billion in taxes over the next few years. it would increase sales tax by a quarter of a percent and incrementally raise income tax on households making more than $250,000 a year. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, today in the

bay. prop 30 is just one of several statewide measures getting a lot of attention. they include prop 31, which would establish a two-year state budget. prop 32 to ban unions from using money deducted from employee payrolls for political purposes and prop 37, which would arequire companies to alert consumers to elengineered foods. to make sure voting in the bay area goes well our investigative team is on duty. call our investigative tip line at 888-996 h-tips or send us an e-mail at theunit@nbcb theunit@nbcbayarea.com. of course, nbc bay area is your home for election results. our live coverage of the national election starts at 4:00. we'll have local news updates throughout the night plus nbc

bay area news at 11:00 will fill you in on all the results. all be back tomorrow morning for "today in the bay" starting at 4:30, especially as the later results come in, we'll have all the numbers for you. >> a lot of tight races expected. exciting to watch. christina lauro loren is ba. >> this ought to motivate you to get on out there and vote. no sun to start and that sun is coming up and now beautiful sunrise here over the bay bridge and little bit of a ripple on the waters as the winds are still gusting out of the northeast and off shore flow persists and today high temperatures near record. 56 degrees to start you out and 51 in napa. south bay, 54 in san jose. your futurecast tells the story of the day. not expecting any low clouds to develop or push onshore. stop the clock at 10:00 and that persists until noon and then at about 4:00, 5:00, the marine

layer starts to redevelop and move inland. tomorrow 10 to 15 degrees cooler and you want to keep that in mind. if you want the sunshine and warmth to hit the beach, today is your day to do so. 86 degrees bay side and 80 degrees right at the coast today. half moon bay hit 80 yesterday and we're expecting the same for this afternoon. as we head through tomorrow, though, changes ahead. rain, snow levels dropping to 2,000 feet and we'll talk about that coming up. 6:08. first, we want to check your drive a driving tuesday and voting tuesday. any heavy volume because of that, mike? >> bay bridge. that's where you show the beautiful view, but i'll focus on the headlights. this is pretty beautiful to me because the traffic is flowing in the fast trak lanes and let's look after you have the beautiful sunrise and the live shot and east shore freeway coming down from the top of your screen still with speeds into the 50s and close to the limit in many spots. gradual build here, as well as the rest of your commute heading towards the bay bridge.

that's commute spot number one. number two livermore trivalley build. typical for tuesday and no drama and smooth drive for southbound 680 and south bay itself, holding pretty normal, as well. northbound 101 the big concern, although 87 now showing that slow down from capital up into downtown. we will give you a live look at the freeway from our san jose camera and there are all the headlights. the sun is coming up and sun will play a factor this week after the time change. folks, you need to use the sunglasses when you didn't have to last week. back to you guys. 6:09. happening right now, an early morning search continues this morning for a nuclear engineer who has gone missing for two straight days. bob redell is live in redwood city where his family is getting ready for that search, as we speak. bob, good morning. >> good morning to you, jon. within the past hour we spoke with kathleen here at her home here in redwood city. she and her family are starting

to get worried about her husband, george slider. a 74-year-old retired nuclear engineer who has been missing for 48 hours now. he disappeared around 9:15 sunday morning during a church retreat in the aptos hills in santa cruz county. the thought is he went into the nearby redwoods for a walk or to do yoga and meditate. around 10:30 that morning he showed up about a mile away, on the other side of the woods asking two women for directions back to the retreat center. what do you think happened? >> i think he had time between breakfast and the next meeting or he went to do meditation or yoga and he tends to lose track of time and he realized he was late and rushed to be back where he was supposed to be and probably got turned around. >> his wife says he does not

suffer from diminiementia but sometimes loses track of time and the good news is that overnight the temperatures have been moderate, it's been dry. he is wearing a t-shirt, but also has pants on and doesn't have a cell phone and, as you heard kathleen mentioned those woods are very dense. she will head back to aptos hills within the next couple of hours to be with her family who is already there. this is as volunteers continue a third of day of search and rescue looking for george. they have been using a helicopter, horseback and, of course, people on atvs hiking those trails. it is very rugged. volunteer search and rescuers to do this trying to find the 74-year-old man from redwood city. bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you, bob. coming up, decision 2012. california's future is in your hands today.

expert analysis on all the key issues, plus, a look at voter turnout and how decisions made by a few could affect us all. which candidates does wall street prefer? that and netflix takes a poison pill. we'll look at business. and, yes, we all had our fun and now we're on the hook. got to pay the piper for that cost. we'll tell you how much taxpayer money is going there to pay off the giants world series victory parade, just ahead. ♪

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...and in the tiniest details. ♪ and sometimes both. nature valley granola thins pack the big taste of granola and dark chocolate into one perfect square, under 100 calories. nature valley granola thins. nature at its most delicious. decision 2012 is yours on this election day. shots of this morning as vice president joe biden is out there casting his ballots in wilmington, delaware. getting the job done. we also have brand-new video of mitt romney. he is casting his ballot just moments ago.

that was in belmont, massachusetts. just hours from right now, californians will get their chance to vote on a variety of key issues, including prop 34, which bans the death penalty and replaces it with life in prison and also prop 38 to fund early education, which increases taxes on earnings using a sliding scale. that would take effect for 12 years. this morning, california taxpayers will decide if they'll give more of their money to the state to save off crippling budget cuts to education. we're joined in the studio this morning with marla tellez and has more on key issues facing voters today. >> good morning. i am joined with science professor at santa clara university. thanks, again, for being with us. crucial initiative for education in this state. also public safety funding has been temporary tax increase really taxing the wealthiest in the state.

probably or arg arguably the biggest supporter. jerry brown. the state has a lot to lose. >> obviously, the governor has been the biggest cheerleader for this measure and has been talking about it for quite a long time and campaigning on behalf of it. somebody who is fiscally responsible to this measure and saying for quite some time, if we want to move towards a balanced budget and be want to continue to improve education in california, that we really need this measure. >> you are in education, is this something that you can your colleague very worried about? >> we get the college students and we get the end stage of that process and to the extent that we can improve and strengthen, you know, k through 12 education, that is better for us. so, you know, i have a lot of colleagues and community colleges that are very concerned about this because thises fu fu would also affect them and it's

a big deal. definitely prefer 30 to 38. >> what about voter turnout? do you expect it to be high? >> i am not sure it will be as high in 2008. we set some records in 2008, compared to other democracies, we don't have the level of turnout that some other countries have. if we get 65%, we're padding ourselves on the back and say that's great. which means 35% stayed home. >> weep we'll keep you here in studio. we'll talk to you in just a bit. several election watch parties planned for today including one at santa clara university. faculty, students and staff will gather at 3:00 and the uc berkeley community will watch the election coverage on a jumbo tron starting at 5:00. and, of course, nbc bay area is your home for election results. our live coverage of the national election starts at 4:00 and local updates throughout the night for you. it is 6:17 right now. moving to other news.

netflix says it is ready to fight off a takeover attempt. >> scott mcgrew says with a poisoned pill. >> good morning, laura. poison pill, netflix isn't saying who the pill is for, but we know it is for carl icahn. bought out than less than 10% of the los gatos company. causing a huge shakeup or takeover. now if one person buys up a full 10%, special rules take effect creating more netflix stocks. this is a poisoned pill. it prevents a hostile takeover. remember, a company can create shares of itself as often as it wants. companies don't do this because creating more stock to lose the shares that are already out there make it worthwhile. if someone, say carl icahn is buying up your company, you can make more of your company for him to buy. it's a little like saying, all right, best of seven wins the world series and then when your

opponent is up 3-0, you say, oh, the rules change. it's best of nine and when he's up 4 you change the rules. that's what netflix is doing. we'll continue to watch the markets this morning. pretty decent at predicting things. many investors concluded what is going to happen on election day. historically, though, markets don't react one way or the other regardless of the candidate. conventional wisdom says business does better under republicans, but, in fact, history says the markets do better when a democrat is in office. you know what i didn't say because a democrat was in office. jon and laura, not necessarily cause and effect, but bull markets and historical presidents do line-up. >> thank you very much. >> i always love it. 6:19 right now. christina loren is back. can't wait to get outside and

enjoy this. >> you might have to wait in line to rock that vote. you don't have to hold that umbrella or stand shivering in the cold. you want to head out there as the polls open in 40 minutes from now, you can go in a jacket in san francisco this morning with very mild readings out there. live picture over san bruno. beautiful, clear conditions. no fog even in daley city this morning at 6:20. we're expecting to stay nice and clear and sunny all day long. temperatures mild. you're at 56 in san francisco and 58 in sonoma and 59 right on the water and down south, temperatures also nice and mild this morning. 54 degrees here in san jose. we're headed towards a comfortable afternoon and high pressure bringing around another round of near record warmth and breaking records that have been set for the month of november. all-time records being threatened today at the coast with 80 on the way. the dry north winds are the reason why and we're going to see that fog-free, full, sunny

day. increases area of low pressure and races towards the california coastline. this is going to change our pattern dramatically towards the end of the week. tomorrow, though, 10 to 15 degree dropoff as we head towards the end of the week. 25 to 30-degree dropoff possible and rain and wind and snow levels will fall significantly to about 2,500 feet. so, the good news is, the chamber of commerce weather arrived just in time for election day. 86 degrees in livermore and right around 82 in san jose and 80 in san francisco. next three days work out like this. look at the dropoff between today and thursday. back to the 50s. thursday and friday, periods of rain. snow levels falling. i think we're going to see our first snow on top of mt. hamilton and saturday and sunday, low 60s, but get that sunny weather back in the mix. just going to be cool as we head to this weekend. 6:21. let's find out how good we're doing with mike on the roads. >> i don't want to jinx things, i probably just did, but westbound 88. everything moving pretty smoothly this traffic tuesday. this is the upper deck getting

away from the oakland site and towards treasure island. a span of hit and run accident in the fast lane, but sounds like all the activity is now off at treasure island. we're still tracking it. some slowing, but no stoppage and that is indicative of the morning commute anyway. smooth drive out of san francis francisco. nice view here. get you out to the maps and nice flow of traffic, as well. nothing really unexpected and bottom of your screen, north 85 and talked about slowing there. look, here's north 101 and jammed from just before 1:00. 87 also shows spots slowing through downtown and that's as you pass by capital and heading into the northbound direction and here's the slowing we talked about coming entice the area. the peninsula, smooth and dry right now. northbound coming towards me with these headlights. if you're looking at this sheen, relatively new pavement and it

is beautiful through the area and nice treat. we're going here to foster city, as well. across the bay, that's how much of a geek i am, i like the conditions on the pavement. a smooth drive and we'll end with this right here as this comes up, westbound commute with those headlights. >> that's okay. >> you're supposed to be into that, mike. >> thank you. 6:23. coming up the, sweet taste of victory was fun, but the price tag might be a little tough to swallow. did san francisco dip into the red or into that orange and black when it came to paying for it? ♪

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6:26. winning the world series having an impact on san francisco's economy. mayor ed lee's office said the city spent $225,000 to hold last week's victory parade. now, the giants helped foot a million dollars for the remaining costs, but city officials say the price was, in fact, offset compliments of visitors spending between $18 million and $40 million during the entire championship playoff run. i'd say that's coming out ahead. much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up criminal charges after a very sad story here. a death at a day care center. new details revealing why a baby stopped breathing in a nursery crib. that just ahead. will superstorm sandy wipe out election day on the east

coast? how states are getting voters around the damage to fill out those ballots, just ahead. right now we take you live out to washington, d.c. a look at a sunny white house. the entire nation stepping out to vote today. everybody talking about who's going to occupy that home for the next four years. will it be obama or romney? we're all over it on decision 2012. we're back in a matter of minutes.

it drenched the oost coast and cost billions in damage. many people wondering if hurricane sandy will also sink election day. the strategy to get voters around the debris and out to the polls. that just ahead. plus, a live look at the oakland fire station where governor jerry brown will cast his vote. does his tax plan have a chance against the competition? right now live to wall street. for the ringing in of that opening bell on this election

day. we'll find out if the results will actually affect the markets coming up on this tuesday, november 6th, this is "today in the bay." it is 6:30 on the nose. good morning, everybody. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. a look at the polling station where governor jerry brown will cast his vote in about an hour. he will vote tax initiative, prop 30. the tax will increase taxes on people who earn more than $200,000 a year for seven years and also raise sales tax by a quarter cent for four years. the money would go towards education and public safety realignment funding. but the governor's plan, rather, does have some competition. proposition 38 is another education-related tax. it is funded by millionaires civil rights attorney molly monger. increase income taxes on a

sliding scale basis to most californians for 12 years. it would raise an estimated $10 billion a year for schools and to pay down state debt. now, if vote 30 and 38 get enough votes to pass, the one with the most votes will win out over the other. now to that race for the white house. this one has been a long, drawn-out two-year battle and the heated fight for the presidency goes to obama and romney. tracie potts is in cincinnati, ohio, a big battleground state that could be very critical in deciding this tight election. tracie, good morning. >> good morning, jon. we're at a busy precinct in cincinnati. very interested in this presidential race and the race wrapped up last night for president obama in iowa where he had his final rally, arguably and perhaps his final rally of

his political career. today he's in chicago where he will watch those election returns. governor romney today voting. we saw him voting this morning and then he's headed to pennsylvania and back here to ohio to thank some of his workers. his final rally was in new hampshire. but before that, both of them yesterday spoke to voters in battleground ohio. last night this was part of their closing arguments. >> last months of our campaign have seen the gathering of strength of a real movement across this country. it's, it's evident in the size of these crowds, like this tonight. my goodness. >> as long as as the there's a child anywhere in des moines, anywhere in iowa and anywhere in this country, languishing in poverty, barred from opportunity, our work isn't done. our fight for change goes on. >> now, it may all come down to the voters here in ohio. 1.6 million of them have already cast their ballots.

either through absentee ballots or in early voting. that's the latest here from cincinnati, i'm tracie potts for "today in the bay." a strajdy is in the works to get voters displaced by superstorm sandy to the polls today. and in counties declared emergency zones, voters could fill out ballots at any polling place they and reach. the superstorm killed more than 100 people in ten states and more than a million homes and businesses are still without power. more than a week after that storm hit. but here is some good news. new york's 9/11 memorial is reopening today. a week after superstorm sandy flooded the world trade center site. water had risen as high as ten feet in some spots. it took days for huge water pumps to try to drain out those tens of millions of gallons of water at that site. >> it is going to take months

and years in some places to get back to normal, so, any amount of good news is great news right now. 6:34 and christina loren is here with spectacular news weatherwise. >> great-looking day shaping up. good morning to you, temperatures near records, yet again. live picture downtown san jose completely clear right off the bat. no fog to report and that sun is now coming up very quickly. two minutes away from your official sunrise. 51 degrees in napa and 56 degrees in san francisco and we're about 35 minutes away from the polls opening up. so, keep that in mind. 54 in san jose and 50 in livermore. as we head throughout the day, temperatures comfortable and near record warmth and fog and clouds return tomorrow and 10 to 15 degrees cooler by this weekend and temperatures drop like a rock. we're going to get into a winter pattern very rapidly and snow levels are slated to fall to 2,500 feet near sierra nevada and we're expecting snow on top

of mt. hamilton as we head thursday into friday. you want to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. 80 at the coast and big-time changes as i've been pointing out. we'll get to those at your seven-day forecast. first, get you out the front door on a good note. good morning, mike. >> what i like about this time of year, the sun rising and effect on the roadways. your visibility fine as you come across the bay westbound with the san mateo bridge and peninsula little slowing for 101. i want to focus on the east bay. you're looking at 92 itself on the bottom of your screen is okay. southbound 880 and out of san leeaandro down into union city d livermore valley and standard slowing there. no surprise here and now that we have slower driving out of pleasa pleasanton. the south bay itself kicking in nicely for northbound 101. a lot of the slowing. north 87, as well. coming up from capital, we still see the speeds in the 40s now and sometimes the 30s as you

approach downtown and 85 slow to saratoga, guys. back to you. >> thank you very much. three child care workers are under arrest after a baby died in their care. the marin county cori ay corone the child was suffocated by bedding. the owner and two employees charged with involuntary manslaughter. >> so sad. 6:36. san mateo county sheriffs searching for two people who may be trying to kidnap a young boy. this all happened at a home in m menlow park. a man driving a van pulled up to a boy who was out playing in his front yard. a female passenger offered him some candy if he would get into the van. when the boy's mother walked over towards him, he sped off. that pair was driving an older, faded blue minivan. 6:36. coming up from the battlefield to the courtroom. the court case against a high-ranking general accused of

trading rank for sex. the crucial decision that could bring him to trial on criminal charges, just ahead. ♪ [ female announcer ] at yoplait, we want you to feel even better about your favorite flavors. so when you call, tweet, and post, we listen. that's why yoplait light and yoplait original are now made with no high fructose corn syrup. and why we use only natural colors and natural flavors in yoplait original. so, anything else we can do for you, let us know. but you'll keep it to yogurt, right? 'cause we shouldn't really help with your love life. yoplait. it is so good!

that's elizabeth.n. and that's skyler... and his mom, nancy. they're just a few of the californians who took it on themselves to send you a message about what they need to restore years of cuts to their schools. prop thirty-eight. thirty-eight raises billions in new revenue - bypasses sacramento and sends every k through 12 dollar straight to our local schools... every school. for them. for all of us. vote yes on thirty-eight.

new thismorning, syria this report says laham was killed in a damascus neighborhood. a syrian leader speaking anonymously said he was killed just last night.

meantime, more violence rocking that country. a car bomb outside the capital reportedly killing several people there. activists say at least 32,000 people have been killed since the uprising began against president al assad's government 19 months ago. testimony resumes today over whether a high-ranking official. u.s. army jeffrey sinclair was the deputy commander of the 82nd airborne division in afghanistan until may when he was sent home because of the probe. he is accused of committing sex crimes against five women. the hearing is happening at ft. bragg in north carolina. yesterday a major general testified that sinclair forced her to have sex with both physical force and threatening her career. congress launching an investigation into a deadly meningitis outbreak that so far killed 30 people and sickened more than 400. the head of the fda will appear

before a house committee next week to address this issue. the illness was traced to contaminated steroid shots distributed by new england compounding center in massachusetts. the fda and massachusetts department of health reporting unsterile conditions inside that facility that produced the shots. house and senate lawmakers both want to know how this outbreak could have been prevented. 6:41. coming up, history in the making. complete coverage to help your vote count during today's election. plus, alone and missing for days now. a bay area family speaking exclusively to us on "today in the bay" as they join the search for an elderly man that has been wandering aerial hillsides all by himself. a beautiful day across the bay area as we take a look outside. mike will have a look at the morning commute to help you get out the door and christina will tell us about changes and why you should really enjoy today's forecast. [ female announcer ] this is the story of eves.

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and happening right now, family members getting up very early to go out and search for a missing bay area nuclear engineer. they are continuing that search this morning. today in the bay bob redell live in redwood city with more on the emotional toll that is really hitting this family. bob, good morning. >> good morning to you, jon. within the past several hours we spoke with kathleen sliter here at her home and within the next hour or so she'll head back to santa cruz county to support volunteers who will be starting a third day of looking for, searching for her 74-year-old husband. looking at a picture now, his name is george sliter retired nuclear engineer and he disappeared around 9:15 this

past sunday morning and he was there during a church retreat at the monte toyon retreat center. he went into the woods to do a walk or yoga or meditate and wouldn't have been unusual for him to do that. around 10:30 he showed up a mile away on the other side of the woods asking two women for directions back to the retreat center. he hasn't been seen since. >> i hope he knows we're looking for him. he has been out two nights now. we're actually very worried at this point. the first day, we weren't worried at all because we figured somebody would find him. but now we're hoping that he's tired enough to sit still and let people come find him. >> kathleen sliter tells us that her husband, george, does not suffer from dementia, but sometimes loses track of time just like a typical 74-year-old man would. overnight the temperatures have been moderate and it has been dry. he is wearing a t-shirt, but

also has long pants on and does not have a cell phone. the problem with those woods, they're very dense and kathleen describes them as elaborate of trails. she'll head back to aptos hills within the hour and some of her family is there and the search and rescues going up into the woods, again. they have been doing this via horseback and atv and helicopter. as many as 50 out there looking for 74-year-old george sliter. "today in the bay." >> let's hope they find him. good weather, though, to go out and search. amazing to have this kind of weather this time of year. >> it has been mild overnight and the night before was mild, as well. that bodes well. prayers going out and hopefully they'll find him. temperatures this morning looking good. nice and mild out there. let's start with a picturesque sunrise for us. just spectacular out there. temperatures really, really warm today because that sun is coming

in right at the coast early. we'll take you to marin county. 2,572 feet here. we can actually see snow atop as we head through the end of the week. better chance above mt. hamilton at 4200 feet and we'll get a dusting of snow with a potent winter storm racing towards the bay area. that will keep our temperatures near record levels. major changes, though, as we head through the next 72 hours. 56 to start in san francisco. good morning to you there. 41 in napa and not too cold in san francisco and if you want to head out right now, 54 degrees in san jose is not too bad at all. high pressure brings about another round of records especially at the coast. expect in the 80s, yet again, in the coastal cities and then area of low pressure swings through and that will dramatically change our pattern. starting tomorrow, 10 to 15 degrees cooler and then thursday into friday, look at this. winter weathered eed advisory i

place. in the sierra nevada where snow levels are expected to fall to 2,500 feet and we could see up to a foot of snow and slick conditions and wind gusts 40 to 50 miles per hour. today's high you do not want to take advantage of the sunshine and you want to get out there. 86 degrees in livermore and 82 in san jose and 86 in san jose. as we head through the next 36 hours 59 degrees with rain coming in late thursday into friday. coolest day of the week will be friday. snow levels will fall to their lowest. here in the bay area, 3,500 foot snow level and in sierra nevada, 2,500 feet. weather will get perfect for you to get out there and rock the boat. temperatures in the 80s and weather not giving you any excuse to go out there and make your vote count. if you're heading out, mike can help you get out there. >> inspirational music going on

and flag waving, look at that. over here, east shore freeway and let's put this into perspective, a lot of cars and this is moving. look at the spacing. you're at the 50s coming down past university avenue and that's great for your commute off the carquinez bridge and toll plaza looks bad for folks not used to it. the fasttrak lane, you can see good movement. all backed up solid without moving and the metering lights show a break, as well. lighter volume for traffic tuesday at the bay bridge, although still very congested. we'll look further south. 880 through fremont and we get congestion, again, slow from hayward inand into union city and into melpedis. we'll look at the other side of the bay with palo alto 101 showing a nice volume increase and southbound, here, look, this

orange glow and the orange orb and coming southbound the sun will hit you in the eyes over the next 20 minutes and that is an issue for the next 45 heading down the peninsula, as well. keep that in mind. the south bay, over all, pretty predictable pattern here. 101 and 87, look at this, slow all the way up from 81 to saratoga. back to you. 6:50. now on to decision 2012 and the race for the white house. this morning the presidential and vice presidential candidates casting their ballots. that includes republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan who is voting today. you see there in janesville, wisconsin. republican presidential nominee mitt romney cast his ballot about an hour ago in belmont, massachusetts. soon, he'll headline more events in cleveland and pittsburgh. meantime, vice president joe biden voted early this morning in wilmington, delaware. president obama actually will not vote today. he voted early on october 25th. this presidential race is

expected to be tight. to give you more perspective on this election day, let's turn things over to tracie potts who is live in cincinnati, ohio. president obama is not out campaigning today and keeping his tradition and playing basketball with friends and mitt romney take some time to go out and make a few stops in battleground states. this late in the game, why does it feel team romney feels that is important? >> obviously, they seem to think that the more they're seen in ohio, the better their chances. this is really sort of a must-win state for both sides. and the president, even though his lead has been narrowing, he still has an ever so slight lead over governor romney and that's been consistent. so, today after he votes and after that stop in pittsburgh, he's going back to cleveland. the campaign says not to campaign and not to have a big rally, but to just thank some campaign workers in one of his offices. but what we do know about that, cameras will be following him and he will be seen in ohio on

election day. >> tracie, how many americans voted early, ahead of today's election? >> about 30 million. we have 120 million total to vote. that means about a quarter of the electorates voted early either by absentee ballot or early voting. in some of the battleground states, ohio is one of them, the early voting has been more robust. about 30% so far have voted early here. >> tracie potts, thank you very much for the update. i'm sure a very busy day for you. we will talk to you tomorrow. all right, thank you, tracie potts. we don't know, of course, who will win the presidential race, but either way history will be made tonight. marla tellez joining us with expert analysis on all sorts of things in store today. good morning. >> he's been gracing us with his expertise and knowledge all morning long. thanks for that. the campaigning is over.

we've seen this election process drag out before. are we going to see that, again? or do you expect to see a president tonight, the results tonight? >> i think the presidential election will have a clear result by tonight. i don't think it will drag out the way it has in past years. on the state level, i don't know some of these ballot measures are very close, but i think they may take a little bit longer to sort out. my prediction, though, is that the presidential race will be over, you know, by tomorrow morning. >> your prediction for who is going to be in the white house? >> i hate to go out on a limsxb you put yourself on the line. 303 electoral votes for barack obama, he will be re-elected based on the projections i've seen. again, that's just a projection. it could be wrong. >> the probability models that you look at also have him winning. >> yes, the projections, folks like nate silver and some other sats titians have done complex models that have predicted the probability of winning and this morning nate silver's website

has said about a 93% probability of obama being re-elected. but that's still only a probability. it's just a projection and we'll have to wait and see until the votes are counted. >> what would you say to the voters who are apathetic. i'm not going to vote today because i'm going to make a political statement by not voting. >> perhaps a bias is a political science professor, but that level of apathy is just not very acceptable. it's not a political statement. no way to determine your apathy, you're not voting a principle stand as far as someone's laziness. so, people who think that's a political statement are really misguided. they should go out, if they don't like either of the two presidential candidates, vote for none of the above and then cast those important ballots for the ballot initiatives because they're very important and they matter to a lot of people. >> there are quite a few propositions important to the state. okay, jim, you're going to be with us tomorrow, as well. jon and laura. >> thank you very much. polls open here in california in just about ten

minutes. and you might see a different crowd lining up this year. christie smith with more on how the internet is changing the face of this year's election. good morning. >> good morning to you, laura. remember the day when the post office and your library were the only options. now, more and more people are registering to vote online. they're young and they don't always vote along traditional party lines. california's new online voter registration option is extremely popular adding more than 600,000 voters for this election alone. about half registered as democrats and 19% as republicans and 32% as other. and most are under 35 years old. now, political observers believe they vote much more independently and they tend to vote for a president and then may skip other issues altogether. so, for instance, even though they might support president obama, they may not transfer that to other democratic-backed initiatives like governor brown's proposition 30 in

support of education, prison realignment and health care. now, governor brown is expected here at fire station at number 6 in oakland to vote some time within the next 30 minutes. i wanted to point out that those are a number of educators and students holding their yes on the 30 and expecting the governor to walk down this way as he prepares to vote. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> to make sure that voting in the bay area goes smoothly today, our entire investigative unit is on duty. if you have a problem, tell us about it. call our investigative tip line at 888-996-tips. or send us an e-mail at theunit@nbcbayarea.com. we'll investigate all reports of voter irregularity and any voting problems. nbc bay area is your home for election results and our live coverage of the national election starts at 4:00 and we'll have local updates throughout the night, plus, nbc bay area news at 11:00 will fill

you in on all the results and we'll be back tomorrow morning, again, for "today in the bay" starting a at 430 where you see all the precincts reporting. feels like marathon to get us here, but it is finally election day. but wall street taking some time and a wait and see attitude this morning. >> scott mcgrew joins us from our newsroom. this is traditionally a very quiet day for the markets. >> it is. almost nothing moving. dow industrials are up about 60 points this morning and nasdaq, as well, as we watch the league of women voters. one exception ziloow down 17% after that seattle company made less money than hoped. still double what it made this time last year. twitter up and running following all the major candidates and races. some good information to be found there and some not so solid. one of the accounts that twitter election headquarters is following, the electoral college has its own twitter account

@electdlecollege. it has 666 followers. >> we'll see if that grows, as well. >> give it time. you know, gain popularity and really brand itself the right way. >> as it goes on and as the numbers come in, so interesting to see. what is going to be really nice to see another beautiful day before it gets crazy this week. christina loren is here. >> easier numbers to forecast in the weather department. good morning to you. temperatures comfortable for you to get out there and rock the vote. 82 bayside at the coast right around 80 degrees. temperatures tumble as we head through tomorrow, if you missed that seven-day outlook we'll have it for you every 15 minutes throughout the "today" show. >> northbound routes all really showing the orange and red that means speeds from 30s down to the 20s where you see it at the 280 interchange with 880. your northbound route for 87 and 85 really slowing down past 17 and highway 87, as well. get a live look at palo alto.

this is where you see the northbound not an issue, southbound is. >> be careful out there. thanks, mike. one last check of the day's top stories. jerry brown and other politicians making the final push for prop 30 as voters head out to the polls this morning. the tax increase would fund education, health care and prison realignment projects. if this one failed, automatic spending cuts will kick in. the csu board of trusties raising fees for students who take extra credit, stay in school too long or repeat classes. the new fees will be on top of the planned tuition shihike, if prop 30 doesn't pass today. if prop 30 does pass, the fees would still take effect next year, but they would be small. a missing prop honoring our nation's war heroes has been found. the mojave cross was stolen back in 2010. somebody found it and they finally got it back. >> thanks for joining us this morning.